Recently went duck hunting to a place right outside of my town. Pond I scouted days before was completely iced over. Took forever to break through and place the decoys. Just wondering what are the biggest hassles the veterans have with decoy emplacement?

Duckman14 wrote:Recently went duck hunting to a place right outside of my town. Pond I scouted days before was completely iced over. Took forever to break through and place the decoys. Just wondering what are the biggest hassles the veterans have with decoy emplacement?

Overthinking it! Sometimes less is more (late season), other times, just the opposite. You obviously want them to pitch to particular spot within, so leave a hole where you want them to land, keeping in mind that puddle ducks usually prefer to land on the downwind side of your decoys, and divers typically pass over them to land.........or not.

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so" Mark Twain

You can carefully walk a circle then slide the ice sheet you just broke loose under the existing ice. Have also used my boat sideways like a big broom to sweep ice where I want it to be.If you got wind once you clear a hole the wind will make waves that expand it. Breaking it all up randomly usually is a mistake.

I'm always after the big greenheads. Most of my best mallard hunts involved lots of ice and snow. It's been a while since I slid ice under ice. Maybe this season.

I've heard that it's incredibly stupid to **** around with a crazy man's head.